How to Tile Your Backsplash

Our whole kitchen started off by looking very bland(as you can see). Pretty much all the colors here are yellow and brown in one shade or another! So we figured it needed a nice uplift in both color and style. I will take you through the steps I took to get to the end result that my wife(and I!) wanted.

First is the Demolition. 

This is a pretty basic step. You need to first decide on what is staying and what is going.  This will help you from going too far! What I have found is that once you start ripping things apart it almost feels like everything should just go! In our case we kept the cupboard structure and refinished them but got rid of the counter top. 

Also during this process it is a good idea to measure and order product as it may take up to 6 weeks to arrive. If time isn’t an issue take your time to find something you really like. We(meaning my wife!) picked out 3 different colors in a 4x16 inch tile, black, white and apple green.

Second is the Preparation

Preparation is what I consider the most important step. You want to make sure that everything you want to accomplish can be accomplished before you start tiling. A good example of this is that I wanted under cabinet lighting, so i had to run the wiring and install a new wall switch to make this happen. Obviously this is a lot easier when everything is apart and a mess!

Another part of preparation is actually prepping the wall physically to accept the tile. This may include checking for bumps and straightening them out. It may also include checking with your tile store about which mortar best suits the application (i.e: unmodified, rapid set, etc...).

Last is the Application

Figure out the pattern. You can do this by simply laying all the tiles out on the floor and flip-flopping them around until you get something you like. One of the more important steps here is to figure out from what point your pattern is going to start. For us it was the center of the sink, the pattern evolved from there.

Take your time with this step. It should be one of the easier with all the right tools. Be sure your mud is the proper consistency(not too runny). You will want either a laser level or just make sure the counter is level and go off of it.

The result will be amazing when you make a plan and execute it well. We really enjoy how ours turned out, hope you enjoyed the pictures!